It is easy to sympathise with Local Government NZ's misgivings about the Labour Party's plan to take Earthquake Commission levies off insurance premiums and add them to rates bills. Local councils are always under pressure to justify...

In the latest of series of policy announcements for the quake-hit region which is shaping up as a key election battleground, Labour Leader David Cunliffe said a Government he led would be "committed to working alongside Christchurch's mayor and councillors to come up with a fair and sustainable solution to the city's ballooning debt, largely a consequence of a government imposed cost-sharing arrangement".

Labour has raised the possibility of the taxpayer shouldering an even greater proportion of Christchurch rebuild costs, saying it would sit down with Christchurch Council to review the existing cost sharing agreement if it won the...

Labour is proposing a sweeping overhaul of New Zealand's disaster insurance regime including shifting EQC levies from insurance premiums to rates bills, lifting the $100,000 cap on EQC payouts and putting in a new independent insurance...

The way New Zealand's buildings will be assessed for damage after earthquakes or floods has been improved after major issues were raised by the system used during the Canterbury quakes.The handling of post-quake building inspections...

columnist Paul Little writes in his column , quite properly, about the catastrophic effect on the people of Christchurch of the two or three major earthquakes, not to mention the fourteen thousand aftershocks, that have shattered so many lives here over the last three years.

Speaking to a business audience yesterday, Christy, Waller, the managing director of Ebos, a large supplier of pharmaceutical and medical supplies, was talking about the lessons learned from 20 years running Ebos where he led 19 purchases of other businesses.

Shonky floor level measurements made by people hired by the Earthquake Commission (EQC) to check Christchurch's post-quake housing stock led to "at least some poor or incorrect assessments", says New Zealand's surveying institute.

Shonky floor level measurements made by people hired by the Earthquake Commission (EQC) to check Christchurch's post-quake housing stock led to "at least some poor or incorrect assessments", says New Zealand's surveying institute.